Media Opinion: I don't think Dana realized how good Khabib was until after UFC 254

[Peli]

I think when Khabib became a superstar, he saw the dollar signs and saw all that money overseas, but I don't think realized how good khabib was and how much harder he should have pushed Khabib when he had Khabib.

His persistence of him getting him back and the press conference gives me that feeling of I knew the guy was really good, but I didn't really think he was this fucking good to run through gaethje like that sorta vibe.



imagine the promo package that would have went into the making of Khabib's 30'th fight. I think in dana's head this fight could sell him better to American PPV buyers for non conor fights and even bigger for the rematch.

It's the only time where he considered someone other than Jon Jones the Goat in any post press conference.

 

[Portland8242]

No, his biggest fuck up was gifting Conor a title shot at UFC 205 and letting him cut the line ahead of Khabib.

The pink goof can be so short sighted sometimes.

 

[ElCasca]

I think he knew it, he just thought Khabib would stick for as long as someone would come up and beat him, and steal his glory in some ways.
I think somebody leaving the UFC undefeated really bothers him.

 

[Adamant]

No, his biggest fuck up was gifting Conor a title shot at UFC 205 and letting him cut the line ahead of Khabib.

The pink goof can be so short sighted sometimes.

What I don't understand is why some guys like Anderson get title shots after 1 fight in the company, but guys like Machida and Khabib had to fight like 6-10 times to get one (while being undefeated the whole time). I just don't get it.

 

[Peli]

I think he knew it, he just thought Khabib would stick for as long as someone would come up and beat him, and steal his glory in some ways.
I think somebody leaving the UFC undefeated really bothers him.

I got the feeling he wanted Khabib to lose the first match with Conor, it didn't happen, so he wanted Conor to lose the rematch if it ever were to happen to set up the triology. Now, I don't think that. Conor is still the cash cow, but Khabib has the most legitimacy as a fighter and superstardom in the company. Especially after Conor lost.

Jon Jones is a cheat who gets into trouble, hard to sell that consistently.
Stipe is great, but he mumbles. I think Dana white still underselling him.
Izzy got the push

He was so hyped off this fight, a million different projects and the conor rematch flew through his head.

I thought Khabib was going to win the fight in the second round. I called it, But I thought it would be spamming takedowns and getting justin tired of defending it. He just walked Justin down, ate his shit and he kept coming forward. I can see why dana was hyped. Probably thought the same thing I thought. some ground n pound, gas him out then submit him. Not cut through him like a butter knife.

 

[FKAri]

He knew. He just didn't realize how much people would enjoy watching a wrestle heavy style dude from Dagestan as well as how it could awaken an untapped market.

 

[yekmurat]

Khabib is a prodigy even a 5 year old can see it and you day Dana did not realize till last year??are you a joke?

 

[hbombfromhell]

Khabib reached his prime at UFC 254

The best Khabib we have ever seen

He looked sensational against Conor and Dustin too but Gaethje was just next level.

 

[Peli]

Khabib is a prodigy even a blind can see it and you day Dana did not reslize till last year??are you a joke?

Oh I knew he knew he was good. He was high level. I just didn't think he realize that he was that much above the competition. He certainly didn't promote it that way. Yeah, he got two events after conor, but I don't feel like he put as much promotion into Khabib's 2 fights as much as he would a conor card. I thought he promoted Khabib as Conor's opponent instead of the other way around and was hoping to promote it just the same way for the rematch, imo over the dominance of khabib

He use the bus footage and Khabib was unhappy about it because it made him look like a pussy not getting off the bus and was mad that image was being put out there.

It blew Dana's white mind that Khabib stood and Banged with gaethje for an entire round, outstruck him and ate his best leg kicks and punches. If you asked Dana white if Khabib was going to do that before the start of the bout, I'm sure he would have told you NO.

 

[Epicman1324]

What I don't understand is why some guys like Anderson get title shots after 1 fight in the company, but guys like Machida and Khabib had to fight like 6-10 times to get one (while being undefeated the whole time). I just don't get it.

Anderson was established in arguably the best organization in the world at the time. He then destroyed Leben who was on a 5 fight win streak and likely to fight for the belt if Silva didn't come to town. There were no other strong contenders at the time, so Andy got the shot. Machida and Khabib came from lower level regional orgs. Machida had the misfortune of fighting in the most stacked division in the sport at the time, and having to wait behind guys like Griffin and Shad who had been grinding through the ranks, as well as established killers like Rampage, Shogun, Wandy, etc. Khabib also came into a stacked division, as well as during the rematch era when it seemed like we've already seen every LW title fight. Combine that with his own injuries and ConMan coming to town, it makes sense why he wasn't fast tracked to the top.

 

[ElCasca]

I got the feeling he wanted Khabib to lose the first match with Conor, it didn't happen, so he wanted Conor to lose the rematch if it ever were to happen to set up the triology. Now, I don't think that. Conor is still the cash cow, but Khabib has the most legitimacy as a fighter and superstardom in the company. Especially after Conor lost.

Jon Jones is a cheat who gets into trouble, hard to sell that consistently.
Stipe is great, but he mumbles. I think Dana white still underselling him.
Izzy got the push

He was so hyped off this fight, a million different projects and the conor rematch flew through his head.

I thought Khabib was going to win the fight in the second round. I called it, But I thought it would be spamming takedowns and getting justin tired of defending it. He just walked Justin down, ate his shit and he kept coming forward. I can see why dana was hyped. Probably thought the same thing I thought. some ground n pound, gas him out then submit him. Not cut through him like a butter knife.

True to that, also, Dana and the UFC loves dominant champions with a big niche because they know since they're so dominant, he could cash out a lot of events and big PPVs, exactly like GSP with the Canada market, and Izzy with the New Zealand one. And Khabib had both the Russian and Muslim community behind him, so I can see why Dana is sad about this opportunity leaving his door

 

[ferrisjso]

What I don't understand is why some guys like Anderson get title shots after 1 fight in the company, but guys like Machida and Khabib had to fight like 6-10 times to get one (while being undefeated the whole time). I just don't get it.

That was a different era where 1 fight was often enough cause there were a lot less fighters. MW was almost a brand new division too.

Anyway back then think 7 fights in a row was the record back then now that's becoming almost common. A lot of shots were built off cred from other orgs as the UFC wasn't the only major organization. Even with Bellator guys like Eddie we see established major promotion stars have a shorter path in the UFC.

Machida it was his fighting style and because LHW was the most stacked division ever at that point.

 

[Peli]

Khabib reached his prime at UFC 254

The best Khabib we have ever seen

He looked sensational against Conor and Dustin too but Gaethje was just next level.

I agree.

For the record, I think Dana thought Khabib was going to win, but I think he thought Khabib was going to take his time, be methodical as he did with Conor and Dustin. I don't think he thought He was going to be able to stay on the feet the entire round with gaethje and eat his best shots. The way 254 was promoted, it was promoted more of a formality. I don't think khabib got promoted great there.

Just my opinion.

It's the only time where a fight made him say someone other than Jon Jones is the GOAT/P4P.

 

[The Chosen]

Meanwhile Dana is pumping in Cantender Series brawlers to promote sloppy stand and bang fighters, when this foreigner who doesn’t win by KO’s became one of the most famous athletes in the world

 

[Mavrilicious]

What I don't understand is why some guys like Anderson get title shots after 1 fight in the company, but guys like Machida and Khabib had to fight like 6-10 times to get one (while being undefeated the whole time). I just don't get it.

Not sure about machidas case though i remember 205 being super stacked during his prime.

For khabib it was a series of injuries (acl and disc herniation) that put him out of comission for over a year, ruining his track to the title multiple times

 

[Peli]

What I don't understand is why some guys like Anderson get title shots after 1 fight in the company, but guys like Machida and Khabib had to fight like 6-10 times to get one (while being undefeated the whole time). I just don't get it.

marketability. Maybe he didn't feel Khabib as marketable at the time, especially not being a striker. I've seen a few of dana's press conference. If someone gets a finish, he's usually excited calling them a bad motherfucker. This was the first time that he seemed kinda gobsmacked to me like damn, As good as I thought he was, he unlocked another level I didn't think he had.

as @hbombfromhell he hit his prime and was only getting better. I'm sure he wanted to see more and as a promoter, He could have sold the gaethje fight to any market, I feel leading into his next fight.

He declared Khabib p4p and one of the greatest before the rankings who are "supposedly" done by the media were to come out a few days later. The guy was really taken away by the win.

 

[eworden78]

What I don't understand is why some guys like Anderson get title shots after 1 fight in the company, but guys like Machida and Khabib had to fight like 6-10 times to get one (while being undefeated the whole time). I just don't get it.

I think Anderson got the title shot quickly because the division was so stale.
At the time Franklin was on an 8 fight win streak, and most of the best talent was scattered overseas.

The only guy I can see that should have been in line in front of Silva was Marquardt.

Does anybody happen to know why Nate the Great never got a shot at Rich?

 

[Kumason]

What does this guy make, 200 threads a day? Jesus christ.

 

[tehMoose]

What I don't understand is why some guys like Anderson get title shots after 1 fight in the company, but guys like Machida and Khabib had to fight like 6-10 times to get one (while being undefeated the whole time). I just don't get it.

Why would anyone give Khabib a title shot early in his UFC career? His pre UFC record is total trash

And he lost 30-27 to Tibau. Tibau outstruck him 46-33 and outwrestled him

 

[Luckyme]

marketability. Maybe he didn't feel Khabib as marketable at the time, especially not being a striker. I've seen a few of dana's press conference. If someone gets a finish, he's usually excited calling them a bad motherfucker. This was the first time that he seemed kinda gobsmacked to me like damn, As good as I thought he was, he unlocked another level I didn't think he had.

as @hbombfromhell he hit his prime and was only getting better. I'm sure he wanted to see more and as a promoter, He could have sold the gaethje fight to any market, I feel leading into his next fight.

He declared Khabib p4p and one of the greatest before the rankings who are "supposedly" done by the media were to come out a few days later. The guy was really taken away by the win.

TBH, I don’t think even Khabib fans realized how good he was and how much he was improving with every fight until UFC 254. Justin was being so hyped prior to the fight that even I started to have doubts. The way he folded in less than 2 rounds dumbfounded everybody. And then you learn that Khabib did all this with a broken foot and had the mumps.

GSP made an interesting point the other day about the UFC wanting Khabib to stay so he could lose the belt. There may be some truth to it. A big part of Khabib’s aura and marketability was his undefeated record. With every win, his legend and air of invincibility grew and that made his next fights even more thrilling. Both fans and haters tuned in to see who might take Khabib’s “0”.